The only way is up
Queensland’s campaign got off to a disappointing start at the 2013 Under-18 Championships in Perth Queensland clinched just one win from four during the opening day of Australia’s Under-18 Championships at Perth.
The mini-Maroons went down in the girls singles, pairs, triples and fours during their round one clash with Victoria, while the boys dropped the pairs and triples before falling agonisingly short in the fours at Sorrento Bowls Club.
“Not the start we would have wanted, but it’s onward and upward from here,” said Bowls Queensland’s Brett Murphy, who is in Perth with the team.
“Tomorrow is a new day and look out whoever we play.”
Braidan Leese clocked up Queensland’s only win of the day, defeating Troy Mansbridge 21-12 in the singles showdown.
An apprentice greenkeeper from the Gold Coast, Leese is the side’s most experienced player. Unfortunately that experience wasn’t enough to get the Coolangatta ace over the line in the pairs, with Leese skipping newcomer Stephen Savage (Dalby) to an eight-shot loss against Victoria’s Jayden Christie and Joshua Corless 19-11.
The boys also went down in the triples, with Cohen Litfin, Brendan Wilson and Nic Gosley kept out by Troy Mansbridge, Jay Bye-Norris and Nathan Lynch, 17-11.
However, by far the most disappointing loss of the day was in the boys fours, where Gosley skipped his side of Litfin, Savage and Wilson back from brink…turning around a 10-shot deficit to drop the match by just one shot.
The news was even worse for Queensland’s girls, with the relatively inexperienced outfit going down in all four disciplines.
The side’s most experienced player, April Wilson, was out-gunned by Victorian sharp-shooter Chloe Stewart in the singles, 21-9, while just a few rinks away her teammates Connie-Leigh Rixon, Taleah Putney, Rikki-Lee Kemp and Kali Visentin were going down in the fours, 24-17.
Things went from bad to worse after the break with the Queenslanders taking a hammering in the pairs and triples.
Rixon, Visentin and Kemp suffered a demoralising 33-8 defeat in the triples, while Wilson and Putney struggled to get on the scoreboard in their 33-4 pairs loss.
Round 1 – Monday, September 30: 8:45am and 12:15pm AWST.
Boys Singles – 12:15pm
Dylan Skinner (NSW) df Trent Britton (ACT) 21-18
Braidan Leese (QLD) df Troy Mansbridge (VIC) 21-12
Michael Sims (TAS) df Charlie Birnie (SA) 21-17
David Downey (WA) df Owen Short (NT) 21-20
Girls Singles – 8:45am
Tamzin Jenke (SA) df Aquis Jones (TAS) 21-18
Jessica Hogan (ACT) df Ellen Ryan (NSW) 21-19
Elizabeth Allen (WA) df Shae Smith (NT) 21-9
Chloe Stewart (VIC) df April Wilson (QLD) 21-9
Boys Pairs – 8:45am
J Christie, J Corless (VIC) df S Savage, B Leese (QLD) 19-11
G Jeans, D Skinner (NSW) df M McQueen, T Britton (ACT) 19-13
C Biddle, R Philpott (WA) df M Simpson, O Short (NT) 19-15
J Bodnar, C Birnie (SA) df J Appleyard, M Sims (TAS) 31-4
Girls Pairs – 12.15pm
C Otterspoor, T Jenke (SA) df A jones, J Walker (TAS) 25-15
C Sylvester, C Stewart (VIC) df A Wilson, T Putney (QLD) 33-4
D Hayman, J-L Worsnop (NSW) dw J Hogan, K Steele (ACT) 16-16
E Allen, D Cant (WA) df S Woodhouse, L Kingsley (NT) 36-6
Boys Triples – 8:45am
T Mansbridge, J Bye-Norris, N Lynch (VIC) df C Litfin, B Wilson, N Gosley (QLD) 17-11
J Davis, L Jones, C Wedlock (NSW) df J Marquet, B Spaven, F O’Shaughnessy (ACT) 27-12
W Neilson, D Nicholls, D Downey (WA) df T Chambers, J Clayfield, J Hamilton (NT) 17-10
T Male, J Lording, K Walker (TAS) df T Wilson, M Scott, J Studham (SA) 23-11
Girls Triples – 12.15pm
S Noronha, E Ryan, N Noronha (NSW) df J Blunden, E Lawrence, J Locke (ACT) 26-7
M Gibson, F Webster, H Keen (TAS) dw J Bowman, H Woolfitt, L Trenorden (SA) 16-16
N Russell, E Rigoni, T Morison (VIC) df C-L Rixon, K Visentin, R-L Kemp (QLD) 33-8
K Ainsworth, A Axford, G Cant (WA) df K Blair, M Philpott, S Smith (NT) 17-14
Boys Fours – 12.15pm
W Neilson, C Biddle, R Philpott, D Nicholls (WA) df T Chambers, M Simpson, J Clayfield, J Hamilton (NT) 23-18
J Christie, J Bye-Norris, N Lynch, J Corless (VIC) df C Litfin, S Savage, B Wilson, N Gosley (QLD) 17-16
J Marquet, B Spaven, M McQueen, F O’Shaughnessy (ACT) df J Davis, G Jeans, L Jones, C Wedlock (NSW) 16-14
Girls Fours – 8:45am
S Noronha, J-L Worsnop, D Hayman, N Noronha (NSW) df J Blunden, J Locke, E Lawrence, K Steele (ACT) 22-8
K Ainsworth, A Axford, G Cant, D Cant (WA) df S Woodhouse, K Blair, L Kingsley, M Philpott (NT) 40-8
J Bowman, H Woolfitt, L Trenorden, C Otterspoor (SA) df M Gibson, J Walker, F Webster, H Keen (TAS) 22-12
C Sylvester, N Russell, E Rigoni, T Morison (VIC) df C-L Rixon, T Putney, R-L Kemp, K Visentin (QLD) 24-17